Influence of intumescent flame retardant on thermal and flame retardancy of eutectic mixed paraffin/polypropylene form-stable phase change materials

In this study, the eutectic mixtures of solid paraffin and liquid paraffin were selected as phase change materials (PCM) with the supporting material polypropylene (PP), to prepare the mixed paraffin/PP phase change materials. Furthermore, a novel triazine char forming agent (CFA) and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) were introduced to prepare flame retarded PCM, which were rarely reported previously. Thermal properties of eutectic mixtures and PCM were measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results showed that flame retarded PCM had higher enthalpy (126.8 kJ/kg) and lower phase change temperature T0 (24.8 °C). The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results revealed that CFA and APP could enhance the thermal stability of the mixed paraffin/PP and considerably increase the charring ability and PCM could pass a UL-94 V-0 rating when the APP/CFA loading reached 30%. The CONE data further confirmed that the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), smoke produce rate (SPR) of PCM decreased obviously, indicating that the PCM had good flame retardancy.